Developing courses for North Carolina Government Professionals

The collection, verification, analysis, and communication of data has become a growing need each year for many state government departments. The NC Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) reached out to the Data Science Academy (DSA) to provide professional development for their staff in order to keep up with the growing demand of data-driven decision making. 

The mission of the DCDEE is “to ensure the health and safety of children in child care programs, to promote quality child care by implementing evidenced-based standards and to increase access to quality child care to families and children across North Carolina.”

DHHS has granted the DSA $28,109 to develop a fifteen-week course customized to support DCDEE staff to develop data analysis capacity. Participants will also develop skills to be active and proficient participants in the data flow cycle, ensuring the ability to communicate their findings effectively and accurately. 

Following the pilot of the grant, with input from the stakeholders and external evaluation, the DSA plans to continue delivering the continuing education course to DCDEE staff.  We hope that it will be a model for future Data at Work courses that serve state government staff, industry and even the general public. The collaboration with DCDEE is a great new step in our work to provide data science opportunities for everyone.